Karen began playing cello in her public school’s music program in northern Alberta. In high school, with no cello teacher in the city, Karen travelled 5 hours to Edmonton once a month for lessons with Edmonton Symphony Principal Cellist Colin Ryan. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Music in Performance at the University of Victoria, followed by an intensive two-year Performance and Teacher Training program with James Hunter.
Karen often appears with the Windsor Symphony, London Sinfonia, and in chamber groups throughout southwestern Ontario. She also enjoys creative collaborations with local film, theatre, dance, and choral groups.
In addition to Karen’s performing career, she is the Executive Director of Arts Can Teach. This team of artist educators brings dance, drumming, storytelling, puppetry and visual arts to learning in Math, Science, Language and more, impacting thousands of children each year. Next year will mark 25 years of artist-teacher partnerships in Windsor-Essex schools.
